Six Best Techniques For How To Catch Fiddler Crabs

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Share: Share on Facebook Tweet on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Pin on Pinterest July 7, 2017 Brock Lee Six Best Techniques For How To Catch Fiddler Crabs   What You Need To Know To Be Successful At Catching Fiddler Crabs  The fiddle crab is one of the best baits to use when sheepshead fishing, or fishing for redfish, black drum, pompano, and permit. Chances are you have seen these little guys crawling around the boat dock or pier. These small crabs get eaten all the time, yet we forget to think of them as good bait.

Catching Fiddler Crabs For Sheepshead Fishing

Where do fiddler crabs live?

Finding thousands of fiddler crabs is a straightforward thing to do. I always looked for saltwater marshlands, beaches, mud banks, under piers, grass flats, rocks, or any other structure that provides shelter during high tide and a feeding ground during low tide. Once you find a colony, there will be too many fiddler crabs to count. The male fiddler crabs have an oversized claw. These are used for fighting, mating, and dancing. Yes, these little crabs love to tango! Once you have found the colony, now you have to catch them! 

Teach them young how to catch fiddler crabs

How to catch fiddler crabs

One of the most fun things I remember as a kid is going out and catching a bucket full of fiddler crabs. Their claws were too small to pinch you, so it was always a challenge to see who could catch the most. My dad made it a game for us, but all we were doing was catching him bait for his next colossal redfish or monster sheepshead. 

The four different ways to catch fiddler crabs:

1) Fiddler Crab HOME INVASION:

How on earth could a home invasion result in me catching a fiddler crab has to be what you are asking yourself? Well, these crabs are known to live in shallow dug out holes in the sand or mud near the coastal marshlands. This makes them easy targets for being dug up. Yes, this is a guaranteed way to catch a fiddler crab. When you see one of these little-side stepping ninja darts into its hole, dig about 5 inches down, and you should bring up the little fiddler crab. This is an easy way of catching them but could take a while to catch a bucket full of bait.

How to catch salt water fiddler crabs by digging them up

2) Run Around Catching Fiddler Crabs:

Like a popular childhood game of tag where one must run around and try to catch their friends, you also can run around and try to catch each fiddler crab. This is a very time-consuming method that often leads to more frustration than a bucket full of bait.

3) The Fiddler Crab Chinese Soup Secret Hole:

The Fiddler Crab Chinese Soup Secret Hole

This is probably my favorite and most effective way of catching these little crabs. I use one of the bowls that the soup comes in from the Chinese restaurant and can catch a whole day's worth of bait and do very little work. Get out there at low tide and dig a hole to where you can put the bowl in and have the ground flush with the top. Put some squid in the bottom and leave it for a couple of hours. When you return, the crabs will have fallen in trying for the bait and will not be able to get out.

4) Throwing Cast Net For Fiddler Crabs

Throwing Cast Net For Fiddler Crabs

An effective way to catch fiddler crabs is by throwing a cast net on to them before they can get away. Fiddler crabs hang out on the mudflats feeding around the water. The large fiddler crab colonies will be out of their little hole homes giving you the perfect opportunity to sneak up and throw a cast net on them. Make sure to use a fine-meshed cast net so they can not escape through the holes. Plus this will eliminate their claws getting hung up in it and killing them. You can catch a lot of fiddler crabs this way before they can hide in the grass.

5) Fiddler Crab Roundup

How to catch fiddler crabs - Roundup

This is one of the most effective ways of rounding up large colonies of fiddler crabs. This homemade way for catching fiddler crabs involves a little bit of crafting. you will need a large bin with two PVC poles and PVC elbows. Attach the elbows to your poles, cut out holes in the bin, and start catching fiddler crabs. Simply put it on the ground and walk along coaxing the fiddler crabs in the direction you want them to go. They will not be able to climb over the PVC poles so they will run down them until they find themselves in the plastic bin. After you have rounded them all up dump in a bucket and go fishing. 

6) Lazy Man Fiddler Crab Technique:

The last way of getting these little crabs is by merely going to your local bait shop and buying them.

Finding live crabs for bait can be a challenge!

How to catch sheepshead with fiddler crabs

When sheepshead fishing, you want to use a straightforward sheepshead rig. Our go-to rig has been proven time after time for sheepshead fishing and other inshore fishing. It is effortless to make with the right terminal tackle. Maybe you're the type who wants to buy a pre-made sheepshead rig; we have those as well. Let's take a look at what you need to make the ultimate sheepshead rig to catch more fish.

Complete Sheepshead Rig For Sheepshead Fishing Setup:

•  For your rod and reel setup, you want something that will last and not break after your first fishing trip. We are a firm believer that you don't have to buy the most expensive or the cheapest gear. You want the biggest bang for your buck. The best reel right now is that canyon reels 3500 with a gear ratio 5.2:1 with a max drag of 25lbs on a sheepshead rod from toadfish.
• 1 oz lead egg sinker with a 1/0 Swivel.
• To make your sheepshead rig, you need a fluorocarbon leader line of about a 1 foot. Attach your swivel to your braid with your egg weight on it, then tie your leader line to it. 
• On the opposite end of the leader, attach a 4x strong live bait hook to complete your Carolina rig.
• Maybe you are a jig fisherman and love sheepshead jigs; there are a variety of different kinds that are perfect for catching convict fish.

Now that you know what equipment and tackle to use, the next question is, how do you rig the fiddler crab? The best way to successfully get a fiddler crab to stay on a hook is by placing the hook between the rear legs or the back corner of the shell. Be careful not to crack or cause traumatic damage to the little crab. You want it alive on your hook. You can always add the crab to the back of a jighead. This could give it the appearance of moving across the bottom.

Rigging a Fiddler Crab

Now that we have gone over how to catch the fiddler crab for bait, the equipment needed, and how to rig the bait, you can get out there and start fishing. Pretty soon, the sheepshead will be biting, and dinner will be served that night! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to leave us a comment below or email us at [email protected]. We would also love to see all of your sheepsheads catches or your monster fiddler crabs, so make sure you send us all your photos to be featured on our social media pages. Check out the number one sheepshead community on the internet and join the community sheepshead nation today. Find other excellent sheepshead fish information and sheepshead recipes. We hope our how to catch fiddler crabs tips will help you fill buckets of sheepshead bait for sheepshead fishing. 

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Comments

Robert - June 10, 2023

Great article. What about some info on where to fish, how deep to drop and how close to the structure? What is the best time and tide to fish?

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